Good Neighbor Podcast: Milton & More
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of Milton, Crabapple, and Hickory Flat
Good Neighbor Podcast: Milton & More
Expert Episode: Using Fixed Retainers to Perfect Smiles with Dr. Korry Tauber of Stable Orthodontics
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Ever wonder why your teeth don't stay put after braces? Orthodontic expert Dr. Korry Tauber from Stable Orthodontics joins us to reveal the secrets behind fixed retainers, those sneaky wires glued to the back of your teeth that act as the ultimate insurance policy for your smile. We'll uncover how these retainers play a crucial role in maintaining that perfect alignment, especially after dealing with severe crowding or those pesky gaps. Dr. Tauber walks us through the importance of both fixed and removable retainers in safeguarding your smile and shares tips on keeping them effective and squeaky clean.
But that's not all—get ready to explore the cutting-edge world of personalized orthodontic care. Dr. Tauber dishes on why fixed wire retainers aren't for everyone and how advancements in technology have transformed the comfort and effectiveness of today's orthodontic solutions. From special scanning techniques to customized recommendations, Stable Orthodontics is committed to providing top-notch care tailored to your needs. Plus, hear how they're making a difference beyond the clinic with their involvement in local sports teams and community events. Don't miss this episode full of expert insights and community spirit!
Understanding Fixed Retainers in Orthodontics
Speaker 1This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Poehler.
Speaker 2Hi everybody. I'm excited to be chatting with Dr Corey Talbert from Stable Orthodontics Tonight. We're going to be chatting about fixed retainers. About fixed retainers we know that a lot of people have questions about retainers and how they relate to orthodontics and long-term maintenance of your smile, so we're going to talk about a few different things tonight and hope that you can understand this topic a little bit better. Welcome, dr Corey.
Speaker 3Hey there, stacey, good to be on. This is a good topic. Everybody always asks about retainers, so let's talk about the kind that are fixed to your on. This is a good topic. Everybody always asks about retainers, so let's talk about the kind that are fixed to your teeth.
Speaker 2Yeah, so why don't you start by telling us what fixed retainers are and how they differ from the removable ones?
Speaker 3Yeah, so a lot of different names. For these kind of retainers I use the term fixed retainer, some people call them permanent retainers or wire retainers, but these are pieces of orthodontic wire that are glued to the back of the permanent teeth, usually right when orthodontic treatment is completed.
Speaker 2And can you explain what the purpose of those are and you know what they help do at the end of the braces period.
Speaker 3So each conversation in our office we talk about what kind of retainers we're going to have when we finish treatment In our office. Everybody gets the clear, removable retainer and those cover all of the teeth. I tell people that those are the real retainer because they cover every single tooth in the arch. These glued on wire retainers are, I tell people they're like a second insurance policy on a few front teeth and we place them there because this is the part of the smile that everybody sees. It's the part of the smile that gets the most attention and if we have any shifting after orthodontic treatment in these areas, we're particularly sensitive to it right.
Speaker 3One of the reasons why we might choose to place a wire retainer is if we started with a lot of crowding, the teeth are really rotated and severely crowded.
Speaker 3The tendency is for these teeth to go back to their original position. So oftentimes we choose to glue a wire retainer on the back of the lower front teeth, for example, to prevent crowding from happening later in life. One reason why we might use one on the top teeth is if we have a really big gap or a space between some front teeth that we want to hold closed. This is like an extra layer of protection around the front four teeth to keep a gap closed. Some other reasons why we might place a wire or a fixed retainer on permanent teeth is if we're missing two teeth just off center. We want the front two teeth to stay really tight or closed when their final position before we replace the missing teeth. But we have a personalized conversation about these fixed retainers in our office because every mouth is not exactly the same. Some people would benefit from having one, not everybody needs one, and there is long term maintenance that you should consider when having one of these wires placed on the back of your teeth.
Speaker 2Can you talk a little bit about that maintenance and what it would?
Speaker 3be Exactly. One of the most important things about these wires is that they're glued on. I don't call them permanent, I call them glued on or fixed, and by saying that, it's just meant for everybody to understand that it is not permanent. It requires maintenance. If you bite into an apple and the piece of glue comes off, it's important to have that piece of glue put back. It's also important to make sure that these are checked regularly to make sure that the full wire is in place just like the day that we put it on. So regular checks at the orthodontist or at least the dentist or dental hygienist is really important. Understanding that the glue, the pads of glue, can come off it might need replacement is really important too. The other thing that we do is give a clear retainer on top of this wire retainer. That's the one that's like a slip cover. Those are used in addition to these wires just to make sure that if you have a breakage and you're still wearing the clear retainer, nothing should have been shifting. Everything should still be in the same place. So if we have this wire and you're wearing the clear retainer, it's two layers of protection around these areas.
Speaker 3Another important thing about maintenance is that they have to be cleaned really well. So they have a tendency to trap plaque, they have a tendency to trap calculus. So it's really important that we use floss and floss threaders to get under these wires clean really well, but make sure that they're very clean so the long-term maintenance of just keeping the wire intact. These wires can also break, so it's a piece of metal that's bent or shaped to the backside of the teeth. When you chew and bite into food, these wires flex and just if you take a paper clip and bend it back and forth a few times, it'll break. These wires can also break and snap, so the metal can fatigue, the glue can come off. That's all like regular maintenance, like you need an oil change on your car. But we also have to keep it clean. Make sure that there's no food or plaque or bacteria building up under these wires that we glue in the mouth.
Speaker 2Would you recommend more frequent dental cleanings? Normally people go every six months, once their braces are off. Would you increase that to make sure that the hygiene is maintained?
Speaker 3It would be a good idea. Oftentimes insurance doesn't pay for that extra visit. But the more cleanings you get a year, the better. Dental hygienists are really good about telling patients one, reminding them to floss and clean, but two they'll let you know. Say, hey, you're a heavy plaque builder, right, you develop calculus really quickly. You would benefit from an extra cleaning once a year. So instead of going every six months, you would benefit from an extra cleaning once a year. So instead of going every six months, you might go every four months and get a third cleaning every year. And those are really done on an individual basis. If you're really regimented about cleaning and flossing these appliance, then you shouldn't need more than two visits a year. But it's really good to have that conversation with your dentist and dental hygienist to just talk about what this long-term maintenance would be.
Speaker 2And do you have an idea of you know what a typical visit plan would be for someone who's in a fixed retainer in your office? You know about how often would they need a follow-up visit?
Speaker 3So we actively follow patients in retention for 12 months after braces come off. We have you in regularly. The first visit's about two or three months. The second visit is about six to eight months and then we have a one-year check. That's active retention monitoring. To school, people start working, adults get busy. I never, ever turn away anybody for a retainer check. If you want to come to my office and get your retainer checked, I will always love to take a look and talk to you about where your teeth are and your retainers. We don't absolutely put something on the schedule for after 12 months. I want to make sure that we're actively monitoring you for that 12 months because it's at that point when the teeth have settled into their final position and things have settled down from moving and your smile is pretty much set. So we actually actively monitor for 12 months. But I'd love to have anybody back in the office just so I can take a look and make sure that everything's still in place.
Speaker 2And how long would someone typically wear a fixed retainer for, and how long?
Speaker 3would someone typically wear a fixed retainer for? That's a good question. It really depends on the person or the patient. Some people can wear them a long time years. I've seen adults come back. It was initially placed by the orthodontist as a teenager. They're in their 30s, 40s or 50s and these things are still looking great, depending on what kind of material is placed and how many teeth are affixed to the wire and how good you are about maintaining it and cleaning. It usually tells us how long these wires will last. Sometimes they get placed on and within the first 12 to 18 months of being placed we're not taking care of it, we're not maintaining it. The glue comes off and the whole wire is bent and we have to talk about either replacing or just planning to remove it. If you keep it and maintain it, I've had people's last decades, so it's really individual. The more you put into it, the longer it'll last.
Speaker 2We know that sometimes folks don't wear their removable retainers. Can a fixed retainer be a solution that would help those individuals? And, if so, could it help after the fact if they hadn't worn a retainer for a few months when they should have been wearing one? Can a fixed retainer maybe fix the situation, or that's not really the way it would work?
Speaker 3that's not really the way it would work. So usually these retainers are placed as soon as braces come off. Once the mold is made for the slip cover retainer, that's the real retainer, because that clear retainer holds all of the teeth in the arch. Once you've been out of treatment a while, it's usually not needed or necessary to place this, say two, three, four years down the road, and I don't want people to think that this is a good substitute for a clear retainer.
Speaker 3I always tell my patients that it is in addition to the clear retainer, just reemphasizing the point that it only holds those wires if they're glued in on the bottom only hold six teeth. You have typically 14 teeth on the bottom if you don't count your wisdom teeth. So you actually have more teeth not covered in the wire than you do have on the wire on the top. If we put one, it's usually the front four teeth, so that's four out of 14 covered with a wire. So it's in my hands. It's never a substitute, it's usually in addition to the clear retainer and after orthodontic treatment is done there's usually no benefit or need to place one years down the road. It's best to be placed, if we choose to do it right before braces come off or at the end of treatment after braces come off.
Speaker 2Got it. Are there adjustments that need to be made to tighten a fixed retainer? Is that something that somebody would need to do or is there some discomfort that they may cause? That's a factor in whether or not a patient would get one.
Speaker 3There's usually no kind of adjustments after it's placed. It's just the maintenance of keeping it clean as far as an adjustment. Sometimes, when they come loose, one of the ends of the wire can be bent and then that can poke somebody in the gum tissue and become uncomfortable. So for that reason we usually choose to remove the wire and replace it, or remove it and reposition and re-glue it.
Speaker 2Those are the maintenance adjustments, but that would really only be if something breaks. Got it. What are some common questions or concerns that your patients ask you about? Fixed retainers, and also the removable ones too.
Custom Orthodontic Care and Community Involvement
Speaker 3The most common question I get is one do I need this wire retainer? And two am I a candidate for a wire retainer? In the orthodontic industry they've become pretty commonplace For many years. A lot of orthodontists were placing them on every patient and kind of giving them the same retainer protocol. Everybody got a fixed wire, everybody got clear retainers. What I really want people to think about is I prefer to do something that's individualized for the patient.
Speaker 3Sometimes when the teeth come together, the way that the bite chews in the front sometimes prevents us from placing a wire on the back of the top front teeth. So when your teeth chew together you don't bite edge to edge. The teeth actually overlap a little bit in the front. So if we have a wire that's placed on the back of the front teeth you can chew into that wire. And if you're chewing on the wire you can cause wear on the lower front teeth or you can cause the wire to come loose and the glue to pop off. So sometimes the final smile and the final bite is so tight that we can't actually slip a little wire in there.
Speaker 3So not everybody is a candidate for one of these wires. On the lower. That usually has no bearing against where the top teeth are and we can oftentimes place one at the bottom. Usually, people are quickly realized that they're not good candidates for this after we place them and they realize that they can't keep it clean. They're just not motivated to floss, they don't keep up with the routine cleaning visits at the dentist and usually what happens is that it comes loose or within the first 12 months we see them back on a retainer check and just see hey, we're not keeping this thing as clean as we can or need to be. So we have that discussion. Maybe it's not right for you. Those are the kinds of conversations we have about these wire retainers and they're not substitutes. They're always in addition to a clear, removable retainer is in addition to a clear, removable retainer.
Speaker 2Yeah, that's a very good point. You need both to maintain the treatment. What if a patient is feeling any discomfort with this fixed retainer, or some pain? Is that something that maybe goes away after a little while, or is that a sign that it may not be the right fit for them?
Speaker 3There shouldn't be any pain when the appliance is placed. It should feel very smooth to the tongue. The tongue will have to get used to feeling it there because it's not as smooth as the back of your natural teeth, but there shouldn't be any pain associated with it. It's not like a dental procedure where you'll have discomfort. It should be placed passively over the teeth, meaning that it should just be gently laid on the back of the teeth and then adhered with a dollop of glue on either two or all the teeth.
Speaker 3The reason why we don't place these with force or activity meaning that the wire is not active is because if it is active it can actually push the teeth around into a different position. Years ago we used to. I've seen older orthodontic wire that was placed in the mouth when it was actually not made of one solid piece. It was made of two or three pieces of wire that were spun together, if you ever think of like a rope for tug of war, a big rope that was turned. When that piece of wire is turned just like I'm holding my hands you have a bit of energy that's stored. So when it's placed on the teeth and the pressure is released, that wire starts to undo and roll and the pressure is released. That wire starts to undo and roll so that pressure, we've seen, causes teeth to tip and turn. So almost across the industry we've stopped using that material. If I see that material in somebody's mouth, I educate them and say, hey, this was something that was placed years ago, that we've got better material now. It would really be best to remove it and you go with a clear retainer or we'll choose to replace it with a different kind of material.
Speaker 3Sometimes the material is like a flat, solid piece of wire that's really flexible. Um, there's also like a chain mail. If you've ever seen like a cuban link necklace, it's like a chain mail. If you've ever seen like a Cuban link necklace, it's like a chain link that's flat. That flat link can be placed across the back of the teeth. So the materials have advanced in recent years and wire that was placed years ago is usually not the same wire that we placed today. So if you have an old orthodontic wire, it would be good to have an orthodontist see it to talk to you about what kind of material was used If you're experiencing shift or movement in the lower teeth, specifically after wearing one of these wires for a long period of time. It'd be good to have somebody like an orthodontist go and check it out, because we've had seen cases where teeth start to move or shift because of old material that was placed.
Speaker 1That's just good for everybody to know, because these things are floating out there At our office.
Speaker 3I'd be happy to see anybody who has one of these and is concerned. I'd be happy to see at the office. At least let me take a look and teach you about what the material is that's placed there. See if it's in good, healthy condition, if it needs any fixing or redoing or if it's still providing you a benefit. Again, the most common thing I see is that they're placed years ago, a piece of glue comes loose and now they're rubbing into the gums and have become uncomfortable. So it requires maintenance and if you need anybody to check it out, I'd be happy to take a look.
Speaker 2And the good thing about your office is that everything you do is custom Right down to the tooth. I remember you saying that you scan the brackets are all custom. You'll be able to look and make the recommendation that's right for that individual patient, which is great. Anything new happening there at the office that you want to share, anything going on for the fall Things that you want folks to be aware of.
Speaker 3Yeah, so we are still growing and welcoming new families into our office. We've done several new mouthguards for sports teams as the kids get back into fall sports. We've connected with a few flag football teams and karate studios that we're making mouthguards for. You might've seen us at some community events. We did the Crab Apple Fest at the beginning of October. At the end of October we're doing the City of Milton Trunk or Treat event. We've got lots of events that we help support the community with. We supported the Kids Business Expo kids who were selling things at Crab Apple Fest and we wanted to support entrepreneurship. As I've grown my own office, I want to support that with the kids, so we supported that event.
Speaker 3We've been doing a lot to try to stay connected with the community and welcome new families into our office. So if you haven't come out to see us, we'd love to see you at Stable. All of our exams that we give are totally complimentary. I just want the opportunity to teach you about your child's growing smile. Oftentimes, early visits don't recommend any kind of orthodontic treatment, but one thing that your child is doing is growing. So we want to help make sure that you understand your child's growth and talk about the needs that they might have in the future and prepare you, you know, a bit of orthodontic treatment when your child's ready.
Speaker 2Awesome. And what's your website there, Dr Calvert?
Speaker 3Yep. So you can find us at stableorthodonticscom. You can click the book now button and schedule online for your complimentary exam, or you could also call us at 770-526-0190. We'd love to see at the office. We want to show you what we have to offer and welcome you into our family.
Speaker 2Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing with us today. I learned a lot about fixed retainers and the pros and cons of those, and I appreciate your time, as always.
Speaker 3Thanks, stacey, appreciate it.
Speaker 2Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Milton Moore. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpmiltoncom. That's GNPMiltoncom, or call 470-664-4930.